The Plague Lords of Ruel (29 page)

You unsheathe the sun-sword and point the tip of its golden blade at the red-robed druid. From his rod leaps a second charge, a lance of crackling fire that spirals through the hole in the wall and fixes itself to the Sommerswerd like a ravenous vampire let loose upon a maiden's throat. Instantly there is a sizzling splash of blue-white sparks and flashing webs of electrical power run back and forth along your arm. Yet you experience no pain; the dark power of the druid's rod is no match for the goodly might of the Sommerswerd.

Slowly and deliberately you draw back your sword then cast away its unwelcome sheath of fire. The ball of crackling fire arcs across the clearing and scythes through a pair of trees with a splintering roar. The severed trunks teeter for a moment, and then come crashing to the ground, narrowly missing the Cener. The druid screams in fury and frustration. He curses you, and then he shouts at his Vazhag minions, commanding them to attack and rip you to shreds.

With hatred blazing in their blood-red eyes, the Vazhag advance towards the ruins, each with a rusty weapon poised for the kill.

If you wish to stand and fight these disease-ridden Vazhag,
turn to 25
.

If you decide to attempt to evade them,
turn to 279
.

Blood-spattered and drenched with sweat, you stagger away from the bodies of the slain hounds. It takes you a few moments to recover fully but, once you have, you set about a systematic search of the drawers of the desk. You find many scrolls and ledgers which you scrutinize for clues as to where in Mogaruith the virus is being cultivated. Unfortunately the papers yield no useful information, but your search is not entirely fruitless. Beneath the ink pot you find two small levers recessed into the desk's surface.

As you examine them your Kai senses reveal that they operate the two metal doors to this antechamber. You flip the right-hand lever and the door by which you entered glides shut. Then you pause for a moment to prepare yourself before flipping the left lever, for you know that this will open the door which leads to Cadak's throne room.

Turn to 240
.

The flaming oil hits you like a fiery shower full in the face yet, protected by your Grand Mastery of Nexus, you suffer no harm. The Cener freezes with shock and gurgles inanely as, unhurriedly, you wipe the blazing oil from your face with the edge of your hand and pat out the tongues of flames which have sprung from parts of your tunic splashed by the oil.

Numbly the Cener fumbles for a weapon. He draws a curvy-bladed knife from a hidden sheath and holds it out unsteadily in front of his chest. You tell him to drop the dagger but he is deaf to your command. He lunges. You deflect his weak attack with your right forearm and counter it with a left hook to the chin which shatters the druid's glassy mask. He reels backwards and crashes to the floor, his bony fingers clutching his throat. For a moment he writhes around on the dusty ground; then his body stiffens and he lies completely still. Cautiously you step nearer, expecting trickery. Then you see that a shattered fragment of his mask has severed his jugular vein and thus sealed his fate.

If you wish to search the druid's body,
turn to 253
.

If you do not,
turn to 306
.

There is a moment of horror when first you glimpse the hideous creature which emerges from the portal. It is a gigantic hound with mad red eyes that burn into your mind with a furnace-like intensity. It sees you and howls ferociously, baring yellow fangs dripping with foam.

Illustration XIX
—You glimpse a gigantic hound with mad red eyes emerging from the portal.

Aghast, you raise your weapon to meet its assault. Then, mere moments before it strikes, you glimpse the outline of an armoured warrior standing in the open doorway. He is shouting at the beast, commanding it to rip you to shreds.

Plague Hound:
COMBAT SKILL
 36   
ENDURANCE
 34

This creature is attacking you simultaneously with a powerful psychic blast. Unless you possess the Grand Mastery of Kai-screen, reduce your
COMBAT SKILL
by 3 for the duration of this fight.

If you win the combat in 4 rounds or less,
turn to 64
.

If you win the combat in 5 rounds or longer,
turn to 114
.

Swiftly you recall the words of the Brotherhood Spell
Invisible Shield
, and cast it by circling your right palm around your lower body as you breathe the words of the incantation. A few seconds later, a pair of Vazhag arrows come screaming towards your legs and rebound from your magical shield with a sizzling splash of sparks.

Saved by your mastery of Brotherhood magic, you are able to reach the gap unharmed and make your escape. You emerge on a mountainside, at a place hidden beneath an outcrop, which is ringed by wind-worn boulders and scrub. Early morning sunlight illuminates the surrounding hills, and beyond them you see a vast expanse of forest, a sea of sickly grey-green trees, which radiates an unmistakable aura of evil. The position of the sun and your Pathsmanship skills inform you that you are now looking upon the Forest of Ruel from the eastern foothills of the Skardos Mountains.

The land appears deserted, the only unusual feature being a wide dirt track which wends its way eastward through the hills towards a gap at the edge of the grim forest. You consult your
map
and conclude that this must be the Skardos Trail, the secret route used by the Ceners, which leads all the way to Mogaruith itself. You resolve to follow the trail, but first you hurry away from the ledge lest the Vazhag, and their monstrous war-dogs, decide to give chase.

To continue,
turn to 230
.

As you sever the last of the flailing tendrils, the roaring above is replaced by a deathly silence. For a moment you remain where you stand, gasping for breath, the blood pounding in your ears. Your Kai tunic is soaked with the ichor of your unseen attacker and its rising stench is making it difficult to draw breath. Then you hear the sound of snapping branches and quickly you move aside as the body of the beast comes crashing down to earth.

With weapon poised you approach the huge shape. It resembles a bear, but covered in leaves rather than fur, and it possesses a bulbous head with four hooded orange eyes. Its bloated black and yellow striped body is a mass of severed stumps, and from the back of its neck there protrudes a clump of spines, like those of a porcupine, but these ooze a sticky black venom.

The sight and smell of this unnatural creature makes you linger no longer than necessary once your curiosity has been satisfied. Quickly you sheathe your weapon and press on towards the east.

Turn to 242
.

Your efforts have cracked the pin but it is still intact and supporting the cauldron. You have no option now but to use a hand weapon.

Turn to 81
.

In desperation, you muster your Magnakai skills and try to neutralize the terrible effects of the acid. At once the searing pain abates, but your skills are insufficient to rectify the damage you have already sustained: lose 8
ENDURANCE
points.

Cursing your luck you hurry along the tunnel, away from this deadly shower. You reach the distant staircase and stop to cut away the parts of your cloak and tunic that have been eaten by the acid. To your dismay you find that your scalp and your tunic are not the only things to have been damaged. There is a smouldering hole in the top of your Backpack and, when you check the contents, you discover that two items have been corroded beyond repair. (Erase from your
Action Chart
those items which you have noted first and third on your list of Backpack Items.)

To continue,
turn to 28
.

One of the basic skills that Guildmaster Banedon taught you was how to mix together seemingly harmless materials in order to create explosive energy. With that lesson in mind you search your Backpack and pockets and, eventually, you manage to pull together small quantities of sulphur, charcoal, and loamsalt.

Carefully you mix them together before packing them in a strip of cloth and wedging it tightly into the keyhole. You leave a few strands of the cloth trailing from the hole and, with the help of a wall torch, you set them alight.

Hurriedly you move away from the door. You have taken only a few paces when suddenly there is a sharp
bang
and a jet of orange flame shoots from the keyhole.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
.

If the number you have chosen is 0–3,
turn to 274
.

If it is 4–9,
turn to 252
.

The Vazhag are totally unaware of your presence as you slip through the milling throng and escape into the empty passage which lies beyond the iron portal. A few minutes later, as you are exploring this new tunnel, you hear their anxious squealing cease and the great door close with a rumbling boom.

The passage continues eastwards for several miles and, with the exception of an occasional Vazhag sentry, it is virtually deserted. At length you arrive at the entrance to another hall, smaller than the lava-cavern but equally as crowded. Daylight streams into this hall through a large archway guarded by armoured Vazhag, and pairs of horny-skinned war-dogs which they hold on the leash. Beyond the archway you can see a track that disappears towards a distant ridge of hills.

Directly above the archway, you notice a thin ray of sunlight streaming through a window-like hole in the rock. Sorely aware that the main entrance is so heavily guarded that it will be very difficult, even for someone as gifted as yourself, to escape that way undetected, you resolve instead to escape by means of the smaller opening in the rock wall.

Pick a number from the
Random Number Table
. If you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery, add 3 to the number you have chosen.

If your total score is now 5 or less,
turn to 192
.

If it is 6 or more,
turn to 346
.

Your familiarity with the tunnel enables you to retrace your steps all the way back to the fissure in less than twenty minutes. However, all this walking has made you hungry and (unless you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery) you must now eat a Meal or lose 3
ENDURANCE
points.

To continue, you can explore the east tunnel by
turning to 118
.

On the far side of the door awaits a series of narrow passages which eventually end at a large antechamber. This domed chamber is decorated with tapestries which depict Cenerese legends, ignoble and infamous deeds that were perpetrated during the Age of the Old Kingdoms, when, for nearly a thousand years, the Cenerese tyrannized Northern Magnamund.

A single heavy oaken door in the opposite wall offers the only exit from the antechamber. As you approach it, you notice that it is slightly ajar. Suddenly you hear the doleful sound of chanting emanating from beyond this door. Curiosity prompts you to peer through its narrow opening and, as you do so, a chill runs the length of your spine when you see what lies beyond.

Turn to 200
.

You open your mouth and form your lips into an ‘O’ shape in readiness to utter the battle-spell
Power Word
you have learned from Lord Rimoah. Then, the instant the spell-thoughts focus in your mind, you project the power-word
Gloar!
at the middle of the fleeing druid's back. Like a hammer, the sound hits him between the shoulder blades and sends him tumbling head over heels into a tangle of thorny briars.

Stunned and groaning, the Cener fumbles for his slender golden rod. His spindly fingers locate it, but before he can use it to retaliate, you sprint across the clearing, weapon in hand, and slay him with a single blow to the head. Curiosity prompts you to prise away the druid's green mask and look upon the face of this servant of evil. It is an ugly, disease-riddled face, human in shape yet lacking any trace of humanity.

Reluctantly you search him and discover the following items:

• Dagger
  
• Cener Robe (If kept, this item will occupy 2 spaces in your Backpack)
  
• Cener Mask
  
• 20 Lune (equivalent to 5 Gold Crowns)
  

If you decide to keep any of the above, remember to adjust your
Action Chart
accordingly.

Your Magnakai skills tell you that the golden rod no longer possesses any magical aura; its destructive powers vanished the moment its wielder breathed his last. You stoop to prise it from the dead druid's hand, but as soon as your fingers touch its metallic surface it disintegrates into a fine, foul-smelling dust.

With twilight but an hour away, you leave the clearing via the gap and hurry along the muddy track beyond.

Turn to 10
.